best real estate practices

Real estate contracts using digital signatures like DocuSign can be an excellent tool, or it can be a real pain. Yesterday was a prime example. We received a purchase contract on one of our listings in the morning. We sent it out for digital signatures. Our seller had signed it but evidently didn’t click on the finish button. This stalled the entire process. I contacted our seller, but he said he had completed the process and could not finish it. I logged on to DocuSign, and it was not complete. What to do? read more

How do Realtors educate buyers to write winning offers? They tell them everything about the process. Talking about how to prepare a potentially perfect offer to conform to the market is critical. We are navigating through a seller’s market in Sacramento Real Estate, right now. Inventory is at all time low.

Buyers are making offers above list price even to be considered to compete, and they face stiff competition and multiple offers. Put on your armor and make your highest and best offer as you may not have another opportunity. All sellers do not send out multiple counters; they can decide to choose the best offer and game over. read more

When managing real estate on Fridays, well, it feels like Black Friday. Every issue that came up during the week seems to roll to a Friday. Probably because it is the last day of the work week for most people. It reminds me a bit of Black Fridays.

So much hustle bustle from the lenders, the title companies, the agents and clients. Photographers, pest companies, home inspectors and transaction coordinators all trying to get all their ducks in a row — with a bit of nudging from us, of course. They are all running around like chickens with their heads cut off. read more

It is always a surprise to me when some Realtors do not follow up with other Sacramento Realtors. One example of this was a recent sale of a condo to a lovely young couple. The lockbox on this condo, which we had used for entry, was located on the front door. Nothing was ever said by the listing agent that the lockbox belonged to someone else before we closed.

I called the listing Realtor after closing as she had not removed the lock box. It was still on the front door! Here is the challenge: the listing agent said it is not her lockbox! Well, it was on the front door of her listing. Why didn’t she get it removed? Why did it become our problem? She said the agent who owns the lockbox is ignoring her calls and texts. Of course now it falls on us to get it removed one way or the other. When some Realtors do not follow up with other Sacramento Realtors, it results in a sure-fire way to cause frustration for everyone in a transaction. read more

Today we would like to discuss a fixer home selling as is in a probate process. This was a recent sale on a listing where the seller was a “probate administrator with full authority.” I could write a book on selling probate listings but, I will stick to the as is portion of this sale as it is most interesting yet often confusing for buyers. From the photo you can see the exterior condition. There were also interior issues.

The seller left behind quite a bit of personal property in the interior, which we had to deal with. Also, due to dust, molds or other issues, these listings can require Hazmat. read more